Our Ears Finally Grew

Lily finally has some ears. She is expecially lovable and likes to be the first to greet me each day.

This is Lily and Poppy's first time in the den. They enjoyed smelling the carpet.

Hello, Miss Darling. I need to find a first name for you.

"Hey, I don't like the flash." says Cosmo.

Hawthorn says, "I smell another cat."

Did I mention that Miss Darling is a great mom? The foster kittens are lucky to have her. She likes to get in my lap and knead her paws and get undivided attention while her babies are scampering around.

What's In A Name

I like a theme. This batch of foster kittens are going to be named for flowers. This little lady is Poppy. Not long after she was born, her eyes started getting matted together. She is the only one who had this problem. I started getting worried about her. Every day, twice a day, I took warm, wet cotton balls and cleaned her eyes. Poppy is all better now!

The two boys are named Cosmo and Hawthorn. I pretend to know which is which.

This is Poppy before her eyes got better. The other little lady (the gray one) is Lilly.

I still need to come up with a few more names.

These foster kittens have especially beautiful eyes. Right now, their eyes are blue. Hopefully, they will stay that way.

Foster Kitten Pictures

Since the foster kittens are so small, they sleep a lot and spend most of their time inside the crate. Abbie decided to join them!

Maybe I just have a bad memory, but this set of foster kittens have seemed to do everything earlier than the last batch of foster kittens. The Darlings have opened their eyes already.

6 foster kittens = 5 orange kittens, 1 gray kitten, 4 girl kittens, 2 boy kittens

"We're identical!"

The Darlings

Until we come up with names, I've been calling her Miss Mama. I've been so lucky to get such sweet mama cats. She is very tame and lovable. After her meal, she starts purring loudly to let me know that she is ready to be petted.

Look at those little ear nubbins! This is the only foster kitten that is this color - similar to the mom's coloring but yet a little lighter with more orange.

There are 5 orange kittens - I cannot tell them apart! This is my pretty niece who is going to help us name the foster kittens.

TA - DA!

We've given the foster kittens a last name - Darling.

Day 2 with New Foster Family

I've got to come up with a last name for the new foster kittens.

Not much to report today - no pictures either.

I started feeding the mom canned food today. THAT really makes her happy! The kittens look fine. I've been to visit them several times today, and they are always asleep in a heap. I like their new set up - the shelter had the foster kittens in a huge dog crate, and they let me bring the crate home. The crate keeps them off the cold concrete floor, and there are several thick layers of blankets in the crate. I checked - by crawling in - and it's warm and cozy in there.

I can't wait until the kittens get more active.

Friday Jones Has A .....

Friday Jones has a ............ home!

This home - he's staying with us! I officially adopted him today, November 2.

Second Foster Family

Meet our new foster kittens!

This, of course, is the mom.

Today, we drove to the Unicoi County Animal Shelter to pick up a new batch of foster kittens. The babies were born on October 26, 2009 so they are about one week old.

We haven't named the foster family yet. I don't think the shelter named the mother yet - if they did, they didn't tell me.

It is actually difficult to say yes to host another batch of foster kittens. I was a little hesitant to say yes this time. Not sure why.

But once you get to the shelter and SEE the foster family, all the doubts fade away. A sense of purpose and happiness floats in and digs itself in your heart on the drive home.

While I was at the shelter, Paul was at Lowes buying the supplies we would need to make a better enclosure for the foster kittens and to keep our cats away from the family for now. Mother cats don't particularly like strange cats - especially males - around their kittens. For health purposes, we also need to keep everyone separated.

The mother cat is sweet and agreeable. The foster kittens are tiny and one or two are starting to open their eyes. Last time, we had five foster kittens. This time, we have SIX foster kittens. So far, 5 of the kittens appear to be the exact same color - I don't know how we'll tell them apart. One kitten looks just like the mom.

I'll keep you posted!

TGFF, Part 2

Yesterday, I got the good news that Miss Dora (the real furry mother of the foster kittens) finally got adopted. I am so relieved! I had actually been talking about her to a friend on the same day that I got the news. I hope she has gone to a happy home.
Today, August and January left my house to go to their permanent home. They got a lot of kisses from me today. I was sad to see them go. :(
I am positive that the house is much quieter now that January and August are gone. Friday, their brother, is still fostering with me, but he sure is a quiet little guy. I'm not sure I've ever heard him meow. I think he will miss his brother and sister, but he has my 3 cats to keep him company. I think I still have Friday because there is a special home for him out there; I just need more time to find it. He's a special guy.
TGFF - thank God for Friday!

TGFF

Here is Miss January Jones and Mr. August Jones. Asleep together in a warm, comfy blanket. They recently got spayed/neutered and are doing really well. They get to go to their permanent home in October.

That black and white guy in the front is Friday - TGFF (thank God for Friday). He is back at my house, getting some more fostering, since he was doing poorly at the animal shelter (in my opinion). I just don't think living in a cage was agreeing with him. I think it "rocked his little world."

It took him almost a week to get interested in food again. He was so scrawny and wouldn't drink kitten replacement milk or eat canned food. He would only eat a few morsels of dry kitten food. But he did drink water and had the energy to play. Everytime, I held him, my heart just broke because I could feel all his ribs and backbone so prominently.

I am happy to report that he is now plump (not fat) and solid and romping around with January and August.

New pictures soon

Stay tuned

Respect the Shelter

I have a respect for animal shelters - even the ones that have a policy of putting animals to sleep.
When I visit the Johnson City Animal shelter, I am always amazed at how clean the cages are. The litter boxes are clean - I don't know how they do it! All the cats have a clean blanket or sweater or rug or bedspread to sleep on. They all have a toy in their cage as well as clean water and food.
The same is true at the Unicoi Animal shelter. I even noticed that they use white blankets in their cat cages. White! And the blankets never look dirty. I bet they change them out everyday!
It's a given that I'm an animal lover, but I don't hold it against shelters that aren't "no-kill." I wish they were all "no-kill" shelters, but I'm a realist. Despite all the public education campaigns about spay and neutering and the low cost spay/neuter clinics that are held, there are people who will not get their pets "fixed."
I am sooo glad that we have shelters so all the unwanted animals at least get a chance to find a home. And it's downright hard to find a home for them. I've asked just about everyone that I can think of that would want a cat. I can't find anyone that needs or wants another cat. Most people already have one or two already. Some people are allergic. Some people prefer dogs. Some people want one, but it's just not the right time for them to have a pet. I respect all those reasons.
Right this minute, January is sitting on my shoulder with her nose stuck in my ear - purring away. January and August have an appointment this week to get "fixed."
As Bob Barker always said, "Help control the pet population. Have your pet spayed or neutered."

Hello Again

About 2 weeks after we took the foster cats back to the shelter, my daughter asked if we could go visit them, and I thought it was a great idea. On Saturday, I called the Unicoi Animal Shelter to see if it was okay. The shelter said, "Come on down!"

When we got there, we saw that Miss Dora and her kittens were on display in a cage in the lobby. We took each kitten out, one at a time, and held them for quite a while. When I got Friday out, I noticed that he was quite a bit lighter than when he had been at my house. The shelter workers told me that they had wormed the whole family and that that can cause them to lose weight. But I was still really concerned about him - he was downright scrawny, but I knew the shelter had been taking good care of him. And Miss Dora had that look of "I'm going stir crazy in this cage." I wanted to take them all home again! It was sort of a mistake to make this visit. I'll post more about this later, but I see now that it is best to cut ties permanently. As much of an animal lover as I am, I realize that I can't save every animal out there, and I certainly can't keep every animal I find. One day, my dream is to have a no-kill animal sanctuary that will have room for lots of animals, particularly cats. For now, I have to accept the fact that I have to limit the number of cats I can have in my home.

But......I told the shelter people that I'd like to foster the Jones family a little longer. I told them I'd have to discuss it with my husband first (and I'd be back on Monday). After I talked to my husband, we decided to just bring Friday back to our house. The other Jones family members were doing well, and the shelter assured me that they have a home for a while.

On Monday, I went to get Friday (and took turns holding Miss Dora, Indiana, and Alaska before I left). Friday sat on my shoulder during the car ride home. He is so sweet.

I'm still concerned about his scrawniness. I bought some kitten "formula" to feed him because I hardly see him eat. I've seen him nibble something once. But he is drinking water. Last night, I swaddled him in a towel and fed him kitten formula with a syringe. He liked it! I hope he will put on some weight and get interested in real food.

I realize I can't keep Friday. I have 3 indoor cats of my own plus an outdoor cat that showed up one day and is still here 2+ years later. I've made a flyer about Miss Dora, Indiana, Alaska, and Friday, and I've sent it to most everyone I know. I hope I can help the shelter get some leads and find the Jones family a home!

Saying Goodbye

The day came when we had to take the foster kittens and their mom back to the shelter. The whole family is so easy to work with that it was no problem putting them back in the box that I brought them home in (it's a really big box).
The shelter was ready for us and had their cage ready for them. Once we got them into the cage, it was time to fill out some paperwork. I had to adopt two of the foster kittens for my niece (those two were still back at the house).
Then I asked the shelter if there was any way that I could sponsor the family to 1) help them get adopted and 2) prolong their stay at the shelter. They told me that they had a guardian angel program where I could pay a portion of their adoption fee - any amount I wanted. I chose to pay the spay neuter fee for each of the foster kittens and Miss Dora. When someone adopts one, they will only have to pay $20.
While I was completing all of the paperwork, I realized that I really didn't get to say a proper goodbye to the foster cats. But I decided that it would best to just wave at them from the window. I knew saying goodbye would be hard. But just waving from the window was hard - Miss Dora and Friday were looking at me, saying, "What is going on? Where are we? What have you done to us?" That broke my heart. Indiana and Alaska were busy exploring their cage which I have to praise - the cage was bigger than many I've seen and very clean.
Having August and Friday back at the house has been a great distraction, but I think about the foster kittens everyday. You can see them on petfinder.com by searching for cats in Erwin, TN.

The Great Outdoors

We took the foster kittens outside one more time. We always take the climbing structure with us because it helps us keep up with them - they are familiar with it. This is Alaska - the foster kittens always, almost always look away right when I take the picture!!!!

A nearby, small tree that January and Friday decided to climb.

Miss January Jones. She has found a home!

Mr. August Jones. He has found a home too!

Friday and January. I have to tell you about Friday. He is the coolest little guy. When I check on them everyday, Friday is the first foster kitten to jump in my lap or climb up my leg. When I feed the foster kittens, they start chowing down right away, but not Friday. He likes to be in my lap for some undivided attention. Sometimes he chews my fingers or toes, sometimes he climbs up to my shoulder, and sometimes we gaze into each other's eyes. {Sigh} He's a sweetie!

The Eager Faces

I added another section to the foster kittens climbing structure. They love it!

However, the foster kittens loved the box even more! There are 3 foster kittens in this picture - Indiana is on top, January is at the front of the box, and Alaska is in the back of the box.

Another picture of the foster kittens playing.

Here are the eager faces! This is what greets me when I call out to the foster kittens to let them know that I am coming. Here they are in order - Friday (on the far left on the floor), Indiana (standing on the left at the front of the stool), January (sitting behind Indiana on the left), Alaska (in the middle), and August (far right).

Ta Da! Here is Miss Dora. She is meowing at me although it sounds more like a "mmmmrrruuurrp."

Step By Step

Here's what happens when I decide to visit the foster kittens.

First, Miss Dora hears us coming and jumps from the enclosure and runs to meet us with one and only one meow.

Second, I grab a can of food or the litter scooper and a plastic bag.

Third, I take care of the feeding, watering and litter chores.

Fourth (sometimes I get to skip #2 and #3 if that's already been done for the day and I get to go straight to #4), I walk to the foster kitten enclosure and hear their greeting (mew, mew, mew, mew, mew).


Fifth, I try to find a clear spot to step into the enclosure. This can be difficult because the foster kittens are gathered around and looking up at me. Sometimes I have to scoot them away with my feet so I can get inside.

Sixth, when I finally get inside, I find a place to sit.

Seventh (this is indeed a lucky number), the kittens climb into my lap from every angle. Today, Alaska started purring as soon as I was seated. It was a powerful purr. The foster kittens love to snuggle and have human contact. Miss Dora is not far behind. Even though it might be easy to give the foster kittens all my attention, I never forget Miss Dora. I respect her superior mothering skills and her sweetness. I try to pet everyone equally. At first they snuggle. Tonight, August settled in my arms and looked up at me with a sweet, sleepy face. I thought he might take a nap. But no, the foster kittens just have to wrestle - each other, my hands, my toes, my legs, each other. Sometimes they try to entice Miss Dora to join in the fun, but she's not having it. She'd just like some of my attention and no shenanigans. Tonight, my husband was waiting for me to watch a movie, and I found it hard to leave them behind. Spending time with the foster kittens can be addictive.

If I Had To Choose

If I got to keep one foster kitten, here is how I would choose.

I would choose Friday because I've never had a black and white cat.

I would choose Alaska and Indiana (one of the solid black kittens) because I have a soft spot for the smallest, and they have a powerful purr.

I would choose August because he doesn't have a tail, and he has a sweet expression that melts my heart.

I would choose January because I named her first and because she is different from the rest.

If I had to choose, it would be really easy.................

How You Know You've Married The Right Person

Sorry if this post gets too deep.

I'll start out easy. When we first brought the foster kittens home. I looked around our huge garage and said, "We have plenty of room for a second set of foster kittens." Without pause, my husband looked around and said, "Yeah, I guess I could build another area over here."
I just couldn't believe he said that. He'd really do that for me and our daughter.

When Miss Dora moved the foster kittens and we couldn't find them, he readily agreed to help us find them, and he was the one who found them. When we realized that we'd need to create a new space for the fosters to live (because Miss Dora wouldn't quit trying to move them), he got right to work making a new space for them. I didn't have to beg for help.
My husband isn't perfect. He hasn't offered to scoop any litter boxes. But he also hasn't asked me how much I'm spending on food or litter. And he hasn't complained about anything.

The thing is is that I think he "gets" me. It's never been a secret that I'm an animal lover. I come home all the time telling him about my latest animal rescue. Many times, we've been in the car together, and I've had him stop or turn around so I can help an animal.

I believe that God created all people for at least 2 reasons: 1) to be happy and 2) to make the world a better a place - to do good while you're here. There are more reasons, but I won't go that deep. I personally believe we all have a purpose in life. Some people are meant to help the homeless, or teach, or foster children, or be a missionary. There are so many possibilities for doing good in the world.

I know my purpose is to help animals. I believe God meant for me to help his creatures when I can. Knowing that brings me a huge amount of peace. I know I'm on the right path. And I know that my husband knows and that he understands my purpose. And he's okay with it. Imagine if he wasn't? No one would be happy.

We're all happy here; not perfect; but happy.

The other day, I encouraged my husband to sit with me and our daughter and the foster kittens. The kitties were climbing all over him. He had such a big grin on his face. And he was making that noise he makes when he's playing with a cute little animal - can't describe it. He was happy. Even though they have claws and teeth and know how to use them, sitting with the foster kittens is very relaxing!

I know I married the right man.

All of the Jones'

Did I mention how hard it is to get pictures of the foster kittens? It is very difficult!
We took their climbing structure outside today to get some pictures of them. We didn't take them out all at once because we weren't sure how they would react. They were curious yet apprehensive.
Drum roll, please...................Meet the Jones Family (except Miss Dora, the mom)...............

This is Alaska Jones. She is solid black and has a tail and is one of the smallest foster kittens. We named her Alaska because she looks like a little bear. My daughter chose the name of a state that has bears. Even though Alaska is one of the smallest kittens, she is very rambunctious! When you cradle her in your arms, she likes to lie on her back and bat at your finger with her paws. Very cute!

Here's one more picture of Alaska - she's in the back, reaching up the climbing structure. She was really hard to photograph - sorry this isn't a close up.

Meet August Jones. HE is black and white and does not have a tail. He has one black eyebrow and one white eyebrow and all four of his feet have some white on them. He's a sweet guy - he likes to play and likes to snuggle.

One more picture of August. Look at that "no tail" action!

This black and white cutie is Friday Jones. Why did we choose the name Friday? Because everybody loves Friday! He was another little scoundrel that was difficult to photograph. Always on the move, always looking for a playmate, always looking for a lap to climb into. He has a tail and has more white on him that August does.

Here's Friday again. Since he was apprehensive about being outside, he didn't want to get too far away from me.

Meet Indiana Jones. In an earlier post, I hinted that my daughter wanted to name HER Indiana for her adventurous spirit. Indiana is the smallest kitten and solid black just like Alaska, but it is easy to tell them apart because Alaska has some long white hairs on her legs and my daughter says Alaska has a fluffier tail than Indiana. Indiana also has a tail, is very curious and active but will snuggle with you in a heartbeat. My daughter says that because of her adventurous nature, she is usually late for dinner.

One more picture of Indiana.

Last, but not least, is Miss January Jones. The first foster kitten to be named, and the only striped kitten. She does not have a tail, is known to meow more than the others, and is always, always on time for dinner. January must look like her dad since she is not black like the others. The tips of January's ears bend down just the slightest little bit where a few long hairs grow - this gives her a bobcat look.

How we chose the names for the foster kittens: Well, I named January first because she looked different than all the others, and I just love the name January Jones. As we were struggling to find names for them (I take pet naming very seriously), I thought, "why not give them all proper names - months, states, countries, cities, days of the week." January doesn't have a tail so the other kitten without a tail also got named for a month: August. The two solid black kittens got named for states: Alaska and Indiana. The other little boy got named a day of the week: Friday because we liked that better than the name of a city or country. If you adopt these lovable fur balls, you can name them anything you want!

To recap: there are 3 girls and two boys. The two boys are the only ones with some white fur. Three kittens have tails and two do not. There are two solid black kittens, but you can tell them apart. There is one gray/black striped kitten. There are 5 foster kittens and 1 mom who have been loved and cared for in their foster home.

Miscellaneous Pictures

Here are some miscellaneous pictures that I have finally uploaded of the foster kittens. These are before Miss Dora decided to move her family.

I have learned that I can nibble and lick my own paws.

January says, "A little help here, please!"

It's a tough job, but some kitty has to do it!

Miscellaneous Pictures

Since I've been bad about posting pictures, here are some that I finally uploaded.

What I Know Right Now

The Jones foster kittens are so fun. Here is what I know about them right now:
1. They appear healthy
2. They are playful
3. They are very tame
4. They are sweet
5. They like to romp
6. They will steal your heart
7. They are still nursing
8. They are getting interested in food
9. They have learned to use the litter box
10. They like to sleep together
11. They "try" to get their mom to play with them
12. They have already got Paul thinking he wants to keep one....I had nothing to do with it
13. They love to see us coming
14. They know how to hiss (but only if you accidentally startle them)
15. They like to climb
16. They like to wrestle each other
17. They like to snuggle with me
18. Miss Dora Jones is a very dedicated mother, and she lets me hold her

We have only two weeks left with them. {Gulp! Sniff!}

Rompasaurus

Okay, these are not new pictures. I just thought I'd post these to tide you over. I keep meaning to take them outside to get new pictures, but we've been busy the past few days.

As soon as we get new pictures - and they are so cute right now! - I will tell you their names and introduce you to their emerging personalities.

I just came in from the garage, and right now, I can tell you that all of their names are ROMPASAURUS. Romping, romping, romping and more romping is what they do!

Somehow, Miss Dora Jones know when I'm going to open the garage door because she automatically jumps from the enclosure as soon as I reach for the door knob to enter. Notice I said "reach for the knob" not "touch the knob." How does she know?

When I looked in on them this morning, I immediately saw that their new climbing structure had collapsed. I climbed inside with them and started working while they hopped into my lap. As soon as I got ONE of the four sides up, they started climbing up it and hanging off it. Instead of scooting them away so I could get to work, I just let them have at it while I fixed the remaining walls.

I finally got it back together, and all 5 foster kittens were climbing, dangling, pouncing, crawling, and snooping all at once. It's a wonder the climbing structure has not collapsed before now. But don't worry, if it collapses again, they can't get hurt - it's made from hollow plastic pieces and mesh. Fairly durable, but lightweight.

What fun we are having!